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Meeting at Laura & Charlie Caggiano Home May 24, 2018

May 24th, 2018

May Meeting Minutes

The May meeting was held at the home of Charlie & Laura Caggiano, located in Richmond on Sunday, May 20th.

The meeting was called to order by Craig Pecora at 3:15 PM. After taking the attendance we found that we only had 14 members attending. We failed to reach a quorum of 15 members so no official business could be acted upon.

Craig thanked Charlie and Laura for having the May meeting at their home. Charlie had three trains running on his layout. All ran well. His new project is to install a cog railway near the back of his layout. A lot of the trestles are completed and installed. It will be a nice addition when he is done.

Craig mentioned that we now have By-Laws and we are a 501c7 club.

Craig Pecora gave a report on the Galveston show we just attended. Instead of setting up on Friday, we set up Saturday morning before the show. The show ran Saturday and Sunday. The set up once again went smooth. The layout really looked good. We used the green tiles for a base for Brenda’s circus set up and a loop for Thomas to run around on. That gave us three trains running on the inside of the layout. The control counsel performed really well and looked good. We got many compliments on the layout. This was the first time we used the modules at Galveston. They were impressed. We could have used a couple more trains to run but we did have enough to keep three trains running on the modules. The crowds were pretty good on both days. At least the people at museum were happy. The kids behaved. There were no major incidents.

We had a couple of work days at the Cauthen’s home to finish work on the modules. Jim Mitchell had a whole laundry list of things that needed to be done. We almost got the whole list completed. There were some straight modules that needed some repairs to the wiring and we needed to get all of the switches working. All of that was done. The ramps needed some work and there was a little touch up painting to do. That was also completed. We wanted to get the storage unit organized and all of the club property currently at the Cauthen’s moved to the storage unit. Unfortunately, we did not get that done. Greg and Brenda will let us know when we can come over and finish that. We will have to rent a trailer for the day to get everything moved. The more help we have the easier it will be. So, when the time comes we will need all of the help we can get. Currently all of the modules are at the Cauthen’s.

Craig Pecora brought up the issue of the Petroleum Club. Although it is early in the year it is not too soon to start thinking about it. Chuck Blumentritt always heads up that project and knows more about it that anyone else. He will be asked to coordinate that project again this year. There were a few things we said we could do to make the set up go easier. There are also a few repairs that should be made prior to setting it up. Maybe Chuck could arrange a weekend or two with the Petroleum Club for us to get that done. If anyone has any ideas, please let Chuck know. This is a good event for the club and we would hate to lose it.

Craig Pecora spoke a little about show participation. If you are planning to help with set up or tear down at any show, please let Jim Mitchell know. It would make planning a lot easier for the club. Plans can change but it would help to have some idea who can participate. If you cannot make a particular show, let Jim know that too. Also, if you are planning to bring trains to run let Jim Know. Before the Galveston show we had no idea of who may show up to help or who was going to bring trains to run. We could have used a few more trains to run. Other members who were there would have brought more trains.

Jim Mitchell mentioned the we are averaging about 390 hits on our web site each month. If you have not visited the site lately, you should do so. Jim is doing an outstanding job keeping it up to date.

Charlie gave the treasures report. We still are doing pretty good and there are no major expenses coming up in the near future. We have received all of the contributions from the latest train shows. We also received money from the sale of some track the club no longer needs.

Lisa Rickert was absent so there was no secretary’s report. I think most of you know that Bill Rickert is running for Fort Bend County Treasure. This was his last chance to campaign before the election. The election was held on Tuesday, May 22. This was a primary run-off election. I am happy to report that Bill won the election with a margin of 55.5% to 45.5%. This means that he will run in the main election this November. Since he will not have an opponent running against him, the odds are he will win. He will then become an official POLITICIAN! I guess that doesn’t make him all bad!

Brenda reported that the next few issues of the newsletter will again be delayed. Brenda has been insanely busy with her work at the Rosenberg Railroad Museum and the Nature Center. The museum has had some personnel changes and Brenda is helping with that. Whenever something has to be done, Brenda is there to help. But that’s Brenda. She asked if anyone wanted to do the newsletter for a while until she gets caught up. Guess what………No one volunteered.

Craig Pecora said he would try to keep the members informed about what was going on in the club until Brenda can get back on schedule. Jim Mitchell will explore the possibility of putting the advertisements for Papa Bends and Mikes Hobby Shop on the website. We need to get their permission.

Greg Cauthen gave an update on the Rosenberg Railroad Museum. On June 30th they are going to have a Night at the Museum, from 6:30 Pm till 9:00 Pm. The event will include a preview of their future exhibit about Fort Bend County Railroading, Stories from the Past. You will see the progress that has been made on their MoPac Caboose and other exhibits while enjoying some tasty bites from local eateries plus wine, beer, and live music. Tickets will be $75.00 each and can be obtained from the museum or by going to: www.rosenbergRRmuseum.org. They are also going to feature Museum Discovery Day on June 24, from 1:00 PM till 5:00 Pm. This will be a day of free admission for everyone. Jim Mitchell reported that the outdoor railroad really looks good with the new ballast. Run day will be Sunday, May 27th. This is a holiday weekend so they are expecting good crowds. Volunteers are needed to manage the layout and run trains for all of these events.

The issue was raised about the club needing a power pack for the modular layout. We currently borrow one from the museum to use at shows. Since we did not have a quorum, we could not vote on a budget for this purchase. A new power pack will cost about $750.00. We will watch E Bay for a used one. If we have a quorum at the next meeting, we can vote on a budget. If we do not have a quorum, we can vote by email. The power supply will be needed in the fall when we participate in the shows. This purchase will require approval from the members.

The June meeting will be held on Saturday, June 9th at the home of Craig & Paulette Pecora located in Cypress, Texas. This will be a pot luck meeting. More to follow when the date gets closer.

The July meeting will be held on Saturday, July 14th at the home of Justin Milanes located in Rosenberg, Texas. Justin is one of our newer members.

We do not at this time have a location for the August meeting. Any Volunteers? We may have the August meeting at the Rosenberg Railroad Museum if no one wants to have it at their home. We have had meetings there before and it seemed to work out well.

A motion was made by John Frank to adjourn the meeting and seconded by Brenda Cauthen. The meeting was adjourned at 4:08 PM.

In the absence of Lisa, Paulette Pecora took the minutes of the meeting.